8th Pay Commission Formed; Fitment Factor Expected to Exceed 1.60 Amid Rising DA

The 8th Pay Commission has been formally constituted with an 18-month timeline to submit recommendations for central government employees' salary and pension revisions, but no implementation date or fitment factor has been announced. Recent Dearness Allowance (DA) data nearing 60% suggests the fitment factor may be at least 1.60, reflecting inflation adjustments since the 7th Pay Commission. Employee unions and analysts argue for a higher factor due to frozen DA hikes and ongoing inflation, while the government continues consultations before finalizing details.